The Chew family is one of 55,000 Singapore families forced to relocate the remains of their relatives to a columbarium as the gravesite is needed for urban redevelopment. The picnic mood of the family outing to move the remains belies the sadness and confusion everyone feels.
In February 2001, Discovery Networks Asia made an open call for ideas for documentaries about Asia. They wanted to commission work from emerging Asian documentary filmmakers who would be given a rare opportunity to conceive and produce work for the channel. The open call attracted over 400 pitches. Moving House was one of six documentary ideas chosen to be funded. Moving House was screened in December 2001 throughout Asia. It became the first documentary commissioned by Discovery Channel to be entirely conceptualized, initiated and directed by a Singaporean.
Moving House (2001) is Pin Pin’s Northwestern University’s thesis film which won a Student Academy Award for Best Documentary. It was based on her first film also called Moving House, shot in 1995. The earlier version is found below. While both films’ narrative arcs are similar, the tone and treatment are very different.
22 min, 4:3, Chinese with English Subtitles
Awards
- Student Academy Award, Best Documentary
- Discovery Channel’s Asia First Time Filmmaker Award
- Chicago International Film Festival, Certificate of Merit
- Nextframe, Documentary Prize. USA-Asean Best Documentary Award.
- Finalist, International Documentary Association/David L. Wolper Student Achievement Award
- Finalist, Golden Reel Award, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Award
Screenings
- Kodak Emerging Filmmakers? Showcase, Cannes 2003
- Australian International Documentary Conference
- Discovery Channel Asian & Australian Broadcast
- Bangkok Short Film and Video Festival
- International Film and Video Awards, Hong Kong
- Philadelphia International Film Festival
- NextFrame Traveling Film and Video Festival
- Image Union, Chicago Public Television Broadcast
- Commonwealth Film Festival, UK
- Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film &Video Festival
- Chicago Asian American Showcase
- Malaysian Video Awards
- Women Inspire, Singapore
- Asian Film Symposium, Singapore
- Loyola Marymount University Television
- Malaysian Video Awards
Credits
Director/Writer Tan Pin Pin
Production Manager Suryahti Abdul Latiff
Line Producer Ho Choon Hiong
Camera Jackie Ong, Ho Choon Hiong, Lucas Jodogne
Production Assistant Lee Chuen Ling
Sound Recordist Michael Lee, Cheong Yew Mun
Camera Assistant Lillian Wang
Off-line Editor Gek Li San, Daryl Burney
On-line Editor Hendry Keck
Music Composer Philip Tan
Audio Mixing Muhd bin Jafar
Narrator Remesh Panicker
Graphics Marc Campbell
Production Management
For Live Art Television, Singapore
Robert Andrews
Amelia Hanibelsz
For Discovery Channel International
Executive Producer
Chris Haws
For Discovery Networks Asia
Series Supervising Producer
Bruce Moir
Executive Producer
Vikram Channa
Executive in Charge of Production
James Gibbons
Moving House (1997)
